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Is Hookah safer than Cigarettes?

Smoke rings, fragrance of flavours, selfies, chit-chats and friends – this is a typical scene of a Hookah Bar or Sheesha Lounge which have increased during the last decade. Smoking Hookah or Sheesha is becoming a rising trend among teenagers. That is one reason why Hookah lounges and Sheesha bars could be seen in almost every prime location of the city. Primary reasons behind the popularity and increased usage of Hookah are:

Way of socialising

Shifting from cigarettes to Hookahs

Acceptance by non-smokers

Not as addictive as cigarettes

Stress reliever for many

No matter how ‘hep’, ‘in’, ‘trendy’ or ‘modern’ Hookah may look, it sure has its own disadvantages. The debate around ‘cigarette vs hookah and which is more harmful’ seems to have found a new conclusion with this new study conducted by the researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles. Below are few of their findings:

If you smoke hookah for 30 minutes, it is equivalent to putting yourself at the risk of developing cardiovascular risk factors. These risk factors are shockingly similar to those developed by cigarette smoking.

A single session of hookah smoking increased the heart rate by 16 beats per minute.

It also increases the blood pressure and there were significantly increased measures of arterial stiffness, which in turn is a key risk factor for heart attack.

According to a previous study conducted by the WHO, a typical hookah smoking session may deliver over 20 times the smoke volume of a single cigarette.

Moreover, generally, cigarette smokers inhale eight to twelve puffs of 40-75 ml each, typically smoking for around five to seven minutes at a single time. However, a typical hookah smoking session lasts around 30-60 minutes or even longer, depending on the number of people with whom you are smoking the hookah.

Consequently, you inhale around 1 litre of smoke which easily equals around smoking 100 cigarettes in a single session. Shocking, isn’t it?

So for those of you who find making ‘hookah smoke rings’ cool and fruit and alcohol flavoured ‘sheesha’ a safer option, consider the above mentioned facts and don’t let the social trends fool you.

NEXT STORY

The truth about pornography

Have you ever wondered why porn is often viewed in secret? Why does every discussion about pornography conveyed in hushed whispers. Let’s try to understand the psychology of porn:

Blue films used as stimulants

Many teenagers discover porn during adolescence. It is exciting and new. Many teens use it as a stimulant to masturbate. This can become addictive. Slowly, teens make excuses to avoid social gatherings or homework to watch porn videos. It starts to take over their lives.

According to Dr Rajan Bhonsle, sexologist, these are the four stages of pornography:

1.Addiction: When a teen is addicted to watching porn videos every day and finds ways to watch porn on a regular basis.

2.Escalation: Over time, addicts require more explicit material to meet their sexual needs.

3.Desensitisation: What was first perceived as gross, shocking and disturbing, in time becomes common and acceptable.

4. Acting out sexually: There is an increasing tendency to act out behaviours viewed in pornography.

However, this can pose a serious concern in the later stages of their lives. There might be a possibility when teens would want to imitate porn stars. Sex in an intimate romantic relationship or marriage is not like a porn movie.

“Research has shown that pornography and its messages are involved in shaping attitudes and encouraging behaviour that can harm individuals and their families. In addition, pornography promotes the allure of adultery, prostitution and unreal expectations that can result in dangerous promiscuous behaviour,” according to Rajan Bhonsle.

1.Sex Education is essential. Whenever, you get the opportunity to attend courses, programs or seminars on sex education, please do so as it will give you some realistic, insights on the concept of sex and reproduction.

2. Knowledge is Power: Once you have the required knowledge, you will come to realize that sex is appropriate in what kind of situations and inappropriate in certain other situations. It is not something that is ‘dirty’ but instead something that needs to be accepted as a way of living life.

3. Additional recreation is a must: As a teenager, it is important for you to channelize your energies by taking up a sport or a favourite past time activity like creative writing, dancing, painting to name a few.

4. Everyone time you find yourself feeling the urge to watch porn, relax, take a few deep breaths and meditate. This will help you to calm down and appreciate what nature has to offer you.

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Disclaimer: TeentalkIndia does not offer emergency services and is not a crisis intervention centre, if you or someone you know is experiencing acute distress or is suicidal/self harming, please contact the nearest hospital or emergency/crisis management services or helplines.